Wednesday, June 25, 2014

#SeekandDiverge

(from velonews.com)

This past week, sneak-peek photos of a brand new
Specialized “road” bike began surfacing on Instagram, from various
accounts, all under the hashtag #SeekandDiverge. We use the word “road”
bike loosely, as few of the photos were actually taken on paved roads,
and with the various obvious use of thru-axles and fender mounts this
bike is no traditional road bike.

Others might be quick to throw this bike into the hopper of “gravel
grinders,” but we’ve never been a fan of the phrase, as it often means
that bike is heavy and lacks snappy handling. We would be much more
comfortable just calling it a bike, maybe even a dirt bike.

The new bike is called the Diverge. VeloNews caught wind of
it earlier this year at the 2015 Tarmac bike launch, where Chris Riekert
of Specialized and James Nord of Deux North videos shared few details
other than the fact that Deux North and Specialized would be filming over several days of riding around Northern California.

What is the Diverge for?

The intended use of many of the bikes within Specialized’s lineup are
begining to overlap, both on the road and mountain platforms. The Crux
cyclocross bike recently received a little brother called the Crux EVO,
which shares the same cyclocross geometry, but with some added features
for endurance gravel races. Rebecca Rusch rode the Crux EVO to a win at
the Dirty Kanza 200 just two weeks ago. There is also the Awol, which is
an alloy adventure bike with loads of tire clearance and rack and
bottle mounts galore. The geometry and weight of the Awol makes it much
more of a what others call a “gravel grinder,” more all-day turtle than
lunch-ride hare.

The Diverge will have massive tire clearance, possibly over 40mm, and
the geometry will be more similar to the Roubaix and Secteur, according
to a source close to Specialized. Racers will familiar with the
Roubaix, the bike Nikki Terpstra rode to win Paris Roubaix, but the
Sectuer is more of a commuter bike with flat bars and loads of rack
mounts, which the Diverge is expected to use as well.

Short-travel dropper post

Another piece of the puzzle that separates the Diverge from other
bikes in the Specialized line-up is a new seatpost. The new post sports a
lever near the steerer tube, and looks to have a travel of only a few
centimeters. We’ve been expecting something along these lines from
Specialized since the brand’s cross-country bikes, the Stumpjumper HT
and the Epic went to 27.2mm seatposts. So it appears that we’re looking
at a short travel cross-country dropper post on a skinnier-tire bike.
Could this also be the year we see riders with dropper posts in
cyclocross?

The rear axle of the Diverge will use a 142×12 convertible dropout
that will be able to be changed to a 9mm quick release, should the rider
change from the wide Roval wheels that are pictured. We are expecting a
Smartweld aluminum option in addition to the carbon-framed Diverge.

The bike will be officially launched on 15 July, the first rest day of the Tour de France.

Friday, June 6, 2014

Pedaling is About Spinning, Not Stepping

Just like other sports such as swimming or cross country skiing, an efficient stroke in cycling can be pretty technical. Yes, you can ride a bike without knowing this, but you can ride a bike with less difficulty and more power if you employ an efficient pedal stroke.

It takes practice to become a perfect pedaler. The most effective use of force during movement, to create power, depends on not only the strength of the muscles involved, but also on a series of coordinated neuromuscular patterns. In short, you need to move efficiently. If you train your body to move in a pattern that is efficient for your sport, in this case cycling, you can improve race day performance.Here are some tips for improving your skill

Pedaling Drills:

On any ride, spin the pedals as quickly as possible as you accelerate down slopes. To do this correctly, leave the bike in a gear that's too easy, one that forces you to fan the pedals to keep up with the speed of the bike. Your goal is to rev your legs as quickly as you can while remaining seated. At first, you'll probably bounce a lot on the seat. But, with practice, you should be able to stay in the seat and maintain a calm upper body even though your legs are spinning at supersonic speed. If you do this drill a lot, your pedaling speed and efficiency will quickly improve.

Ride Exercises:

Do the Pull-and-Push
Each time a pedal reaches 3 o'clock, pull straight back (parallel to the ground) with the front
foot and simultaneously push straight forward with the trailing foot. This action feels funny at
first but if you work at it a bit, you'll find that it helps — especially on hills. And, after a while
you'll pedal smoother than ever because you're able to apply power through more of the stroke.
This happens because the natural up-and-down pedal action is complemented by the new
fore-and-aft motion.

Go Single
There are other drills for improving pedaling. A fantastic one is doing single-leg workouts on
an indoor trainer. Here's how: Warm up for a while with the bike in an easy-to-spin gear. When
you're feeling warm and loose, pull one foot out of the pedal and rest it on the trainer or on a
stool next to the bike. Then pedal for thirty seconds to a minute trying to be as efficient as
possible with your one foot. Pedal easily with both legs for one minute. Then, repeat the drill
with the other leg.

Almost immediately it becomes easier to pedal smoothly during normal pedaling, because you
are essentially teaching each leg to pedal in perfect circles. Practice the single-leg drill two to
three times a week and you'll soon have a silky smooth spin and more pedaling power when
you hit the road and trail.

Rev It Up
Another great technique can be performed on the road and on a trainer. A cyclo-computer with
cadence helps with this drill but if you don't have one, just count how many complete
revolutions you make with one foot in ten seconds, and then multiply by six to get your rpm
(revolutions per minute). Put your bike in a low gear and take your cadence up to 120 rpm (or
a 20 count for 10 seconds) and hold for 30 to 45 seconds.

Try hard not to bounce and concentrate on staying smooth and supple. Give yourself a few
minutes rest and repeat between for and six times during your ride. Keep in mind this is a
technique drill and not an interval, so be sure to gear down enough that you aren't straining to
hold your target cadence. Doing one or two reps is a great way to complete a warm up as well
(you can also do this drill on a downhill trying to spin as fast as possible without bouncing)

Monday, June 2, 2014

2015 Stumpjumper FSR 650B Comp Evo Review

The Stumpjumper FSR 650B uses 150mm of travel front and rear, stable trail-oriented geometry, thru-axles front and rear, a tapered headtube, and a press-fit PF30 bottom bracket. Geometry is tweaked over the existing models, in order to maximise the handling benefits of the mid-sized wheels. The rear Fox shock features the clever ‘AutoSag’ functionality, which enables quick and easy setup of the rear shock pressure without having to bust out the ruler.

The Stumpjumper line is the longest running name in mountain bike history, and it’s one that Specialized are clearly proud of. You’ll find 29er hardtails, 26″ full suspension, and 29″ full suspension models all bearing the Stumpjumper name on their downtubes. A quick look at the Specialized website will leave you a little dazed and confused, particularly when you try to wrap your head around the ‘EVO’ models too. However, the Stumpjumper has proved to be the perfect platform for Specialized to launch their first 650B bike, though we’ll bet our next deadline that you’ll be seeing more 650B models from them in the future…

The M5 aluminum Stumpjumper FSR Comp EVO is purpose-built for the aggressive trail rider. It separates itself from the "regular" Stumpjumpers with a slacker head angle and 150mm of front and rear travel. The Comp EVO features a custom FOX Float CTD Evolution shock with AUTOSAG, RockShox Revelation RC3 fork, and a 2.3" Specialized Butcher Control front tire.